(Clearwisdom.net) At 9:30 a.m. on November 23 in Fengcheng, Liaoning Province, a court session was held to sentence four Falun Gong practitioners: Liang Yuncheng, Qu Shanlin, Wu Juan and Sun Zhongqin. Four lawyers came from Beijing and defended them for four hours. They pointed out that according to the laws related to freedom of speech and freedom of belief detailed in the Chinese Constitution, practicing and promoting Falun Gong are completely legal. Therefore, the Falun Gong practitioners had not broken any laws, and by bringing them to court and punishing them, the judicial system was breaching the Constitution.

Public not allowed to attend public hearing; CCP officials fill the court

Uniformed and plainclothes police officers filled the inside and outside of the Fengcheng Court starting from about 8 a.m. They were positioned at the entrances to the courthouse, on the nearby roads, on the bridge, and inside the Xinhua book shop to closely monitor things.

At around 8.30 a.m., family members of the Falun Gong practitioners, as well as other members of the public, demanded to be allowed inside to witness the hearing. Apart from a few selected family members, who were thoroughly searched and scanned before being allowed to go inside, everyone else was blocked at the doorway. Four checkpoints, each manned by two guards, were established between the courthouse's main entrance and the courtroom, and additional guards lined up on either side of the hallway. The 610 Office personnel, public security personnel, district officers, and other Chinese Communist Party officials comprised most of the observers in the courtroom. Video cameras filmed the proceedings. Some members of the public asked: “Isn't this a public trial? Why can't we go in?” The guards answered: “Orders from above.”

Lawyers cite Constitutional law in defense argument

The defense lawyers said that the charge of “suspicion of using an evil cult organization to undermine the implementation of law,” which was being used to accuse the four Falun Gong practitioners, was not valid, because there isn't any law that states that Falun Gong is a cult. There is also no evidence that the practitioners were undermining the implementation of law or breaking any laws.

The four lawyers presented a comprehensive argument by discussing the principles of criminal law, how the practitioners had not broken any law, and how the accusations had no legal merit. In fact, the judiciary system's persecution of Falun Gong breaks Article 251 of the Criminal Law, which states that it is illegal to “deprive citizens of their right to religious belief.” They said that the court should look into its responsibilities according to the law before handing out punishments.

The lawyers called on the judge to respect people's constitutional rights and the law, and release practitioners Liang Yuncheng, Qu Shanlin, Wu Juan and Sun Zhongqin with a “not guilty” verdict.

The court considered the evidence from 9.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. Faced with the defense lawyers' sound arguments, chief judge Xu Hongren announced that the court would break, and that it would be up to a collegiate bench to appraise the evidence and make the final judgment.